Photographs by Frank

27 September 2014

Autumnal Abstracts

Filed under: Autumn,Landscapes — Tags: , , — Frank @ 3:00 PM

Thursday afternoon, I went for a walk hoping that the clouds would break near sunset and I would have interesting skies and “good light” on the landscape.

This was not to be.

While waiting for the “good light”, I entertained myself in the drab gray light by playing with long exposures (10-20 seconds) and deliberate camera movements as I am wont to do on occasions such as this*.

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*Warning photographer talk ahead! Dull, low light makes long exposures easier although I still needed a neutral density filter for these photographs.

 

25 September 2014

Margins Redux

Filed under: Early Fall,Monadnock Region — Tags: , — Frank @ 12:00 PM

One of the peculiarities of landscape photography is that even though parts of the landscape are seemingly constant, other parts (e.g. the light and the weather) are constantly changing.

These facts have two consequences for photography:

#1 — Keep revisiting the same landscape; your photos will always be different.

#2 — If you see an interesting landscape in good light, stop and make a photograph right then and there; second chances on great conditions are rarely granted. Of course, in order to do this you always have a camera with you!

Thus, yesterday morning while out running errands, I could not (once again) resist the combination of puffy white clouds, blue sky and red swamp maples.

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24 September 2014

Tomatoes… and Garden Flowers

Filed under: Early Fall — Tags: , — Frank @ 4:00 PM

This year the squashes (zucchini and otherwise) have been pretty much under control. On the other hand, the tomatoes seem to be out of control!

For a number of days, I have been contemplating the counter of our kitchen island completely covered with tomatoes of all sizes, shapes and colors. I knew there had to be a photograph or two in this bounty.

Thus, yesterday afternoon, I set up a “studio” outside on our deck*.

I began by lining up some small tomatoes on the railing and made the photograph that had been rolling around in my brain for the past few days (see the first photo below). Since I was all set up to make photos, I looked around for other subjects in the tomato pile. When I finished there, I moved on to the flowers Joan grows around the perimeter of the vegetable garden.

All-in-all a good time was had by moi!  I used up some creative energy and amused myself for a couple of hours

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* Warning… photographer talk ahead! My “studio” consisted of a small translucent white scrim arranged to diffuse the sunlight hitting the subjects which were set upon the deck railing. I started by using the natural scenery as background, but I eventually used a reversible white/gold reflector as the background; it was roughly ten feet beyond the deck railing.  I set my exposure to over expose the background giving relatively featureless backgrounds. I used a 70-300 mm zoom lens on my camera.

 

Margins

Filed under: Early Fall,Landscapes,Monadnock Region — Tags: , — Frank @ 2:00 PM

Ecologically, the transitions between different environments (forest and field or water and land, for example) are very important areas. These transitions often provide shelter for animals on one side and hunting grounds on the other side.

In the early autumn many of these margins (especially those involving water) are often highlighted in the red of early-changing swamp maple foliage.

On days with puffy autumn clouds and deep blue skies one can make wonderful photographs of the landscape.

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20 September 2014

Early September

Filed under: Birds,Early Fall,Landscapes,Mammals,Monadnock Region — Tags: , , — Frank @ 2:00 PM

The beginning of September brings three harbingers of the autumn that is just around the corner…

The hawks and other raptors begin their migration. We, in the Monadnock region, are lucky to have a wonderful spot from which to observe this world-class spectacle. New Hampshire Audubon organizes and staff an observatory on the summit of Pack Monadnock in Miller State Park during September and October each year. Visits are always interesting; I tend to go on weekdays when it is not quite as busy.

The swamp maples begin to turn red. For some reason, the swamp maples at the north end of Gregg Lake seemed to turn especially early this year; there were signs of red in late August. Currently, these trees are about at their peak and there it little change most of the other trees.

The chipmunks become manic. Living more-or-less in the woods, with a property bounded by stone walls, we are well acquainted with chipmunks. However, in early September as the acorns start to drop, the chipmunk activity really picks up. One does not even have to go outside as their squeaking vocalizations are clearly heard when the windows are open.

Late yesterday afternoon, I noticed “nice light” on the chipmunk highway (i.e. the stone wall) down by the road. I headed down, with camera in hand, hoping to get some photos of “flying” chipmunks as they jumped from stone to stone, often with an acorn in their jaws. I failed miserably… they are just too fast for me! I did manage a couple of frames of individuals who stopped to eat along the highway!

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NH Audubon Photo Contest / Auction

Filed under: Birds,Odontates — Tags: , , — Frank @ 2:00 PM

The New Hampshire Audubon Society is sponsoring a wildlife photo contest and fundraising auction this fall.

I entered five photos in the contest. My prize? I had to mat and frame those (the first three shown below) that were selected for the auction! Oh well… all for a good cause!

If you happen to be in the Manchester, NH area between 1 October and  7 December stop in at NH Audubon’s Massabesic Center to see all of the photographs and maybe to bid on one or two if you can.

As I said, all for a good cause!

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Home and Harvest – 2014

Filed under: Early Fall,Monadnock Region — Tags: , — Frank @ 1:00 PM

One of the markers of early autumn for me is Antrim’s Home and Harvest festival; this year was the eleventh annual edition.

Along with many vendors spread out along Main Street and a multitude of activities for the kids, the main activities for the weekend are a parade on Saturday morning, skateboard racing all day long and a chicken barbecue organized by the Lions Club topped off with fireworks.

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Mount Washington Cog Rail

Filed under: Early Fall,the White Mountains — Tags: — Frank @ 12:04 PM

Last year, right after Labor Day, we took a trip to the White Mountains with our now-adult offspring. One of the things we did on that trip was to ride the Cog Railway to the summit of Mount Washington.

We must have talked up the trip well because this year we repeated the Cog Railway excursion with my parents. We did just a day trip but a good time was had by all and my father got to check off an item from his “bucket list”.

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